Mike Rizzo reportedly sets next round of interviews with Dusty Baker, Bud Black

After firing first-time manager Matt Williams following numerous late-inning strategic mistakes, it may have caused some head scratching when Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo included the likes of Diamondbacks third base coach Andy Green and Triple-A skipper Phil Nevin in the ongoing managerial search.

Green and Nevin, along with other Rizzo interviewees Giants bench coach Ron Wotus and Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach, don't have any background managing at the major league level, something that Rizzo stressed was important in his search for Williams' successor.

"Last time, we brought in managing candidates with little or no managerial experience," Rizzo explained on Oct. 5. "I think that we will have a greater pool of managing candidates this year stemming from very experienced to limited experience and really go through a process that gets to know the manager personally first and then professionally and what he does on the field."

It appears that process is beginning to play out as Rizzo is zeroing in on a couple of his battle-tested candidates. According to the Washington Post, the Nationals have asked veteran managers Dusty Baker and Bud Black to return for second interviews. They are two of seven reported candidates Rizzo has interviewed so far to become the next Nationals manager.

Following a 19-year career in the majors, which included two All-Star appearances and a Word Series championship in 1981, Baker went on to manage 20 seasons in the big leagues.

Baker compiled 1,671-1,504 record (.526) while managing the Giants, Cubs and Reds from 1993-2013. He took all three teams to the postseason, but only advanced to the World Series once, losing with San Francisco in 2002.

Baker, 66, was named National League Manager of the Year three times (1993, 1997, 2000). The 66-year-old hasn't managed since Cincinnati fired him after losing to the Pirates in the 2013 NL wild card game.

Despite rumors of overusing pitchers and mismanaging bullpens, Baker was widely liked by his players and commanded respect in the clubhouse.

With his team possibly loaded with unrealistic expectations, Black was fired by San Diego general manager A.J. Preller in mid-June with the Padres underperforming at 32-33. San Diego gave Black his first managerial job in 2007 and the former major league starting pitcher led the Padres to a 649-713 record over his nine seasons as skipper.

While consistently dealing with cheaper payrolls, Black's Padres only finished above .500 in two of his nine years and never made the playoffs. He is only the third manager since 1900 to hold a job with one team for more than eight seasons despite never making the postseason or winning more than 90 games in a year, according to Elias.

Black was named the National League's Manager of the Year in 2010, when the Padres won 90 games but missed the playoffs with a late-season collapse.

Black owns a 121-116 record with a 3.84 ERA during his 15 years in the majors. The left-hander started 33 games for the 1985 World Series champion Royals.

Black, 58, won another World Series ring in 2002 as Angels pitching coach as Anaheim beat Baker's Giants in seven games.

Teams can continue their managerial searches during the World Series but are asked by Major League Baseball to hold any hiring announcements until after the conclusion of the Fall Classic. Rizzo has reportedly interviewed seven candidates so far: Baker, Black, Nevin, Green, Wotus, Wallach and former Twins manager Ron Garndehire.

Another attractive potential manager joined the mix when the Dodgers and Don Mattingly parted ways on Thursday. There hasn't been any indication of a meeting arranged yet between the Nationals and Mattingly, and widespread reports have the Marlins as the favorite to land Mattingly to fill their managerial vacancy.